TAXIS, Mumbai

If you're flying internationally chances are you will arrive late at night or in the early morning. If your hotel does not provide transfers and especially if it's your first time in Mumbai, book a prepaid taxi from inside the airport. The booths are right outside the arrival hall just after customs clearance (before you exit the airport). Do not try to arrange a taxi or a rickshaw on your own. Chances are you would be "taken for a ride" for sure or worse.

Some of my most enjoyable times were in a taxi! here are a few tips/advice

-be friendly...don't be scared to talk/chat to the drivers. They are some of the most friendliest people i've ever met, and you learn such interesting things!

-there's a different taxi rate for after midnight. Initially I thought I was being ripped off...but found out later that there are two rates.

-the minimum amount you will pay is Rs13...i think.... even if it's just down the street.

-in general...the taxi drivers do not cheat you. I found them to be very honest.

The Cool Cabs are blue with a grey roof. They have electronic meters and you pay the amount shown. These taxis are usually 40% higher than the little black and yellow ones but are also air-conditioned and more comfortable. They also have a better track record for less accidents.

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Taxi’s are pretty cheap and plentiful. You will mostly see the old Premier Padmini’s (Fiat) in the black and yellow. They are old and not air-conditioning but not a bad ride. They have meters and can be hailed in the street within the city. Just make sure you can see the meter. Most seem to be honest but if you are arriving from the airport or train station, be sure to get a pre-paid taxi where the fare is agreed and paid at the start of the journey.

With the great care and help from the Vietnamese lady, I got the chance to share the taxi with another two french girls. Finally, they were very nice for not letting me pay for the fee.

They got to known a good taxi driver. The taxi driver was so happy by singing the song for us and made some good jokes. We laughed a lot.

China Doll: You are so happy?
Taxi Driver: Yes, happy!
China Doll: Why so happy?
Taxi Driver: Just divorced with my wife. And my son's child was dead because of illness (he delivered this with some black humor)

Three of us stared each other and paused: Is this his happiness? *~*
We lauged behind...

The taxi cost from Columba to Airport during the night may cost from 300Rs to 400Rs, which depends on your neogotiation skill.

The city train operates till 1am. If you are with someone, it is still OK to take the train and transfer with rickshaw to the airport. The closest station to Columba is Churchgate.

Wherever you go, your luckiness still count...

Although we really preferred using the little auto rickshaws whenever possible, for most of our transport around the city, we did use taxis on a couple of occasions for longer journeys or to travel with our luggage to the airport. As the traffic was often busy, we found it could take longer than we had expected to get from place to place.

There always seemed to be plenty of taxis about and we never had trouble finding one, as we walked along the road. They didn’t all have air conditioning and although they travelled along with the windows open, it could be hot and uncomfortable.

We found the price we paid for the journeys much cheaper than using a taxi in London and as most of them showed us the price they were asking on a tariff conversion chart, comparing it to their meter, I think they were charging us fairly. A friend who lives in the city had told us to ask to check this card if the price seemed unexpectedly high.

We booked a pre-paid taxi from the international airport arrival hall. Thankfully got there first. The rates are fixed so no haggling. We were given a taxi number and told to find it outside in the que. There was no que but a sea of taxis. We managed to find it. It was rickety old and our luggage wouldnt fit in the boot so he had to tie ropes around the boot to make sure it didnt fall out. Anyway at the end of the trip, the cabbie was expecting a tip. I told him i booked the pre-paid so I won't have to deal with all this......but he just smiled and persisted. So I told him I had no more cash on me, he left disappointed. The cabs around Mumbai are a mixed variety of old and good. They mostly have fixed prices (one should preferably have change). The cab driver for our trip to the domestic airport was a nice chap who got us there in time, so we did end upp tipping him.

India is a very poor country and some of the taxi drivers actually live in their taxis, literally. It is a good idea not to show your purse when in the taxi, my husband who is Indian made one taxi driver stop and let us out when he was paying too much attention to me as I was delving into my handbag.

Also watch the meter, they have a cardboard converter which converts the amount of money charged on the meter to a current price, make sure you check it.

If you pick up a taxi at one of the big hotels, we stayed at the Taj Mahal in Bombay, the tourist police take a note of the taxi number when you depart, so if you encounter a problem they can pinpoint the culprit.